Reflecting
on
Those
Early
Days

In
an
October
2021
letter
to
then-House
Speaker
Rep.

Nancy
Pelosi
and
Sen.

Chuck
Schumer
explaining
her
support
for
mandatory
paid
parental
leave
in
the
U.S.,
Meghan
wrote
of
being “overjoyed”
but “overwhelmed”
when
her
daughter
was
born
when
the
pandemic
was
still
preventing
business
as
usual
in
hospitals,
schools,
etc.

“Like
fewer
parents,
we
weren’t
confronted
with
the
harsh
reality
of
either
spending
those
first
few
critical
months
with
our
baby
or
going
back
to
work,”
she
wrote. “We
knew
we
could
take
her
home,
and
in
that
vital
(and
sacred)
stage,
devote
any
and
everything
to
our
kids
and
to
our
family.
We
knew
that
by
doing
so
we
wouldn’t
have
to
make
impossible
choices
about
childcare,
work,
and
medical
care
that
so
many
have
to
make
every
single
day.”

Meghan
continued, “No
family
should
be
faced
with
these
decisions.
No
family
should
have
to
choose
between
earning
a
living
and
having
the
freedom
to
take
care
of
their
child
(or
a
loved
one,
or
themselves,
as
we
would
see
with
a
comprehensive
paid
leave
plan).”